Low-income households find it hard to cope with the risks brought about by an illness or injury, death of a family member, man-made calamities, and natural disasters. Demand for microinsurance products is growing and both formal and informal microinsurance schemes have started to emerge to...

Global markets for goods and services have opened for countries that have made substantial investments in technological innovations in transportation, communications and production techniques, inventory management and the rapid rate of innovation in financial instruments, among others. This...

The paper discusses current government attempts to shift to market-based housing finance in the context of the past performance of the government's housing policy and strategy. It focuses on the interventions intended to provide access to the low-income groups that have been commonly excluded...

In the past few years, the government has developed and installed a unique model of performance-based budgeting known as the Organizational Performance Indicator Framework (OPIF). The OPIF demonstrates the relationship between an agency’s programs, activities, and projects (PAPs), the goods...

A developing economy such as the Philippines has to create an enabling environment for economic growth and development. But how does one nudge forward the creation of such an environment? This paper departs from the usual discourse on the need for effective implementing institutions. Instead, it...

This paper describes some emerging innovations in microfinance observed in Southeast Asian microfinance markets that make it possible for microfinance institutions (MFIs) to reach a greater number of poor households on a sustainable basis. It discusses the nature, importance and types of...

The study analyzes the response of households, especially agricultural households, to price and income changes. The determination of the income and price elasticities of demand for food and nonfood items is important in framing appropriate policies affecting the macroeconomy and the agricultural...

This paper describes some emerging innovations in microfinance observed in Southeast Asian microfinance markets that enable microfinance institutions (MFIs) to reach a greater number of poor households on a sustainable basis. It discusses the nature, importance, and types of innovations....

Microfinance is an emerging important financial subsector in Asian transition countries. Its role is to improve financial access of the poor and small economic players and thus help them to build assets, which means a contribution to poverty alleviation. This paper provides an overview of rural...

The country's archipelagic configuration requires an efficient maritime transport infrastructure composed of ports and shipping for growth and socioeconomic integration. This paper examines competition policy and the regulatory framework of the port and shipping sectors. It assesses the policies...